My Daily Nighttime Skincare Routine ☾

I'll jump right into this post, it's pretty self explanatory. Also, this is just my basic nighttime skincare routine, some days I'll skip a step (you'll see once you read on) or I'll do more (a mask for example) ! 

1) I remove my make-up using Bioderma Sensibio/Crealine H2O Micelle Solution with cotton pads, (I like these ones). I can't say enough about this cleanser/make-up remover. I first heard about it from Ingrid/missglamorazzi last summer. Luckily I went to England shortly after finding out about it, and made a day trip to France and got to pick a big bottle of Bioderma up ! It cost me 11€ ! A serious steal of a deal, because in Canada the small bottle costs about $25 CAN, and a large one is usually around $50 USD on most online sites. 

2) On heavy make-up days I will cleanse with Whitefiicient Clear Brightening Gentle Cleansing Oil by Shu Uemura. It costs a pretty penny, so I don't know when I will be able to purchase it again after I run out since I am saving for uni and will be a day-time student again come Autumn. I bought the smaller size bottle they have at my local Holt Renfrew to test it out and I do love it ! The Bioderma works wonders at taking off my make-up, but this cleansing oil takes it a step further and lets me indulge my skin. I try not to use it more than once a week, especially because it's so expensive, I want to make it last. 

3) Even though both the Bioderma H2O Micelle Solution and the Shu Uemura cleansing oil are brilliant at removing make-up, I like to use a cleanser afterwards to make sure all my make-up is gone, especially since removing make-up properly is the most essential part of one's skincare routine. I like to alternate between Soap and Glory's Peaches and Clean, and Face Soap and Clarity. Sometimes I'll use it in conjunction with my Clarisonic Mia if my skin is feeling grubby still. I am a huge fan of Soap and Glory products, so look out for a post featuring my favourite products by them in the future, I won't go on about them here. The only downside to the Peaches and Clean cleanser is that you can only get it in the UK, luckily I picked some up the last time I was there. 

4) After cleansing, it's time for moisturiser ! I already did a review on this product, so you may already know that my current nighttime lotion is the Chamomile & White Lily Sleep Concentrate by My Beauty Diary. I've already spoken about this a lot, but this a lovely product that is perfectly moisturising for my skin type and very nice to apply before bed. 

5) Final step is to apply a spot treatment, in this case Lush's Grease Lightning. I have tried many a spot treatment in my time (with my acne-ridden and spot-prone skin I'm always looking for new remedies) and this is by far the best I've ever used ! Sometimes it will calm the spot after the first night, and then it'll slowly go away, and others it is more of an instantaneous result. Either way, it definitely helps fight my breakouts and I definitely recommend this

product !

Links: 

Bioderma Sensibio/Crealine H2O Micelle Solution ~ Amazon or Sasa (It's on sale !)

          Shu Uemura's Whitefiicient Clear Brightening Gentle Cleansing Oil ~ Shu Uemura

          Soap and Glory's Face Soap and Clarity ~UK, USA, Canada 

          Soap and Glory's Peaches and Clean ~ UK 

          My Beauty Diary's Chamomile & White Lily Sleep Concentrate ~ Sasa 

          Lush's Grease Lightning ~ Lush

My Daily Morning Skincare Routine ☼

This is my basic morning skincare routine. I'll start off with my St.Ives Green Tea scrub and then move onto my Hadalabo foaming face wash with my Clarisonic Mia. Using a scrub and a cleanser with my Clarisonic in the morning gives for a super fresh and clean feeling. I know some people say not to use a scrub everyday as it is too harsh. For most this is probably true, but my skin type really needs that extra scrub to get rid of those dead skin cells, plus I make sure to be very gentle with it when using it daily. I'll wash my face using warm/hot water with these cleansers, then I'll rinse off at the very end with cold water. 

~ It's important to wash your face with warm/hot water because it helps open up the pores and make for a better cleansing experience. Then you will want to rinse with cold water (I like it icy-cold) because that will close the pores up. Technically the pores don't open and close with the temperature of the water, they get bigger and smaller, so by finishing off with cold water it will reduce the appearance of pores and make your skin feel tighter, fresher and smoother. ~

After patting my face dry (also extremely important to pat dry, do not rub!), I'll use my Super Hyaluronic Acid Lotion by HadaLabo and then mist some De Slick by Urban Decay. I've been trying to incorporate this last product back into my routine as I've neglected it for awhile. I wear make-up everyday (unless I don't leave the house haha), so after my morning cleansing I'll apply make-up therefore I mist this oil control and make-up setting spray and let it sit for a minute. 

Here's a list of the products and where to buy them:

1) St.Ives Green Tea scrub ~ online or in any local drugstore

2) Hadalabo Daily Foaming Wash ~ online 

3) Hadalabo Super Hyaluronic Acid Lotion ~ online 

4) Urban Decay's De Slick ~ online or in-store at Sephora 

And that's all for this post folks. Thank you for reading and let me know what your daily skincare routine looks like in the comments below; what works for you and what doesn't and whatnot !

SASA Haul and Review

Hello cuties ! I have another haul for you today, (sorry if you don't enjoy hauls >__<). This one is all about products I've purchased from the site Sasa. I'm going to give a brief overview of the site and my history with it. I believe I first heard about it from Bubz many years ago. Sasa is basically just an online shop for Asian skin, body and hair care products and make-up. I think they have actual Sasa stores in some parts of Asia, and that it is similar to a shop called Watsons in Asia, but don't quote me on that ! 

I have been purchasing products from Sasa for three years now, and will continue to for the foreseeable future. They have a deal where if you spend over $75 or so you get free shipping. This sounds like a lot of money, but think about it - how much would you spend at the store buying face washes, moisturiser, face masks, make-up and other odds and ends ? Many of us can easily spend more than that because these essential products add up so quickly. Also, as far as I'm aware they ship worldwide ! I've had my purchase shipped to the US twice and Canada once. Every year in February I purchase about $100 worth of products (I don't know why, I just like to buy them then). And for the most part they last me until my next purchase ! 

So without further ado, this is a collective photo of what I got this year:

From left to right:

Aloe Sheet Mask by My Beauty Diary ~ $13.60 USD

This is my third time purchasing these masks ! They are so moisturising and soft on the skin. I have a lot of redness (and Rosacea)  so the Aloe helps with the redness of my skin.

Aloe Toner by Natural JUJU ~ $9.00 USD

My second time purchasing this, (one year it was sold out when I wanted to purchase and I just went on without it). I LOVE this toner, it's my all-time favourite. Again it is aloe, so very good for my skin. It doesn't tingle much at all, it's not itchy and doesn't sting. Also helps to prevent breakouts (for me at least, I have noticed a difference).

Hyaluronic Acid Whitening Washing Foam by Aquamoist ~ $7.40 USD

This is my first time purchasing and I haven't tried it yet. I will review when I try it out !

Super Hyaluronic Acid Lotion by HadaLabo ~ $18.80 USD

I accidentally bought this Lotion instead of the one I had bought previously. I had actually bought the emulsion product by the same name and same packaging  previously, and used it as my moisturiser because for my oily skin it was enough. This product is a fine lotion, it is water based and extremely runny/thin because of that. I wish it were a tiny bit more moisturising, even for my oily skin, I have some dry patches. I DEFINITELY recommend the sister product though - Super Hyaluronic Acid Emulsion. I will be re-buying that product next time. 

Daily Foaming Wash by Hadalabo ~ $13.00 USD

My third time re-purchasing this product ~ I love love LOVE it ! Perfect foaming face wash because it comes out of the pump already foamy so you don't have to worry about it not lathering up properly. It leaves my skin so soft, smooth and refreshed. It's not drying at all. I use it in conjunction with my Clarisonic Mia and it is a great combination. There's not too much to say, just that it is a lovely product. I buy it every time I order, and will keep buying it.

Black Pearl Sheet Mask by My Beauty Diary ~ $13.60 USD

Again, this is my third time buying these masks. They are very moisturising and softening as well. They also have a brightening product as well which I love (maybe whitening too ?) . I use it for its brightening and moisturising properties. My Beauty Diaries are my favourite sheet mask brand.

Epinse Hair Removal for Face by Noble ~ $6.40 USD

I decided to buy this because I heard about My Spring It and it looked like a tiny version with tweezers, so I thought, 'What the heck, I'll try it out.' I DO NOT recommend this product. The tweezers are completely rubbish, and the spring at the top does remove some hair (I can feel it and it hurts, nothing I can't handle though haha), but I can't actually see any VISIBLE hairs being removed, so it's pretty much pointless. 

Real Lasting Eyeliner 24h by K-Palette ~ $18.60

MY FAVOURITE EYELINER, FULL STOP. This is my second time buying this eyeliner, it's actually a different product to the One Day Tattoo Eyeliner. It lives up to its name though - I've never had to wear it for that long because I always wash my make-up off at night, but I can believe it could last that long.  I bought the Dolly Wink liquid eyeliner the same time as this one last year to compare, and preferred this one, but I'll do a compared review later. 

And that's all for this post ! I hope you like the haul and mini-reviews. If you'd like any further reviews of these products, let me know in the comments below. OH also, don't forget to check SASA out ! I can spend hours just looking at products ~ but I sincerely recommend making a purchase from there. They are super reliable, you will get your products in good time and perfect condition, and they have such a large range of products and brands. They also let you pick a freebie/sample with each purchase !

Chamomile & White Lily Sleep Concentrate Review

Today I have a review for you all ! I purchased this product around the beginning of March, and have been using it every evening since then so I have a good idea of how I feel about it. I really like this product because it is not heavy or sticky feeling on your face. This product is by the My Beauty Diary brand and can be purchased online or in some Asian supermarkets. The writing on the packaging is in Taiwanese (apart from the 'title') so I can't read the instructions or anything, but you can read a description of it online as well. It comes with a little scoop/spoon for application, which is handy because it helps keep the gel clean and is good for hygiene reasons (it's unsanitary to be dipping fingers with all sorts of bacteria into the pot each night).  For those of you who have oily, combination, and/or sensitive skin I highly recommend it for a night lotion because it is gel based so it's nice and light. Here's a list of my pros and cons in case you'd like to purchase it:

Pros:

ᴑ For oily skin types it is perfectly moistuising

ᴑ Not too heavy 

ᴑ No sticky residue

ᴑ Nice, sweet fragrance, (not overpowering though)

ᴑ Cute and simple packaging

                                                                         ᴑ Fair-priced

Cons:

ᴑ Not moisturising enough for dry skin types

ᴑ Available only online or some Asian supermarkets

If you’re interested in purchasing it you can get it online here. They also have an Orange Blossom & White Lotus one and a Rose and White Peony one !

Chapters and T&T mini-haul

Not too long ago I went to my local T&T Supermarket and today I made a trip to a Chapters bookstore. For those of you who don't know, T&T Supermarket is simply an Asian supermarket in the city I live in. I love going there to buy little odds and ends, sweets, drinks, beauty supplies, magazines, whatever takes my fancy really !

Today I have a little haul of the things I bought. Since my T&T purchases were made a while ago, I have been able to try the products out and will do a review on one of them soon. 

Here's what I bought from T&T:

I have tried quite a few different brands and types of facial puffs in my time, and I much prefer the rectangular, or sometimes square, puffs to the circular ones. You can purchase them from any Asian supermarket or online here. They also tend to be cheaper than the ones I get in North America. They hold a lot more product too, so less wastage !

This is the Chamomile & White Lily Sleep Concentrate by the My Beauty Diary brand. I use it as my daily night lotion/moisturiser (sounds like a contradiction haha). I would go on about it more, but I am going to fully review it in a separate post, so look out for that. 

And this is what I got from Chapters:

 I had a gift card left over from my birthday, so I decided to pick up a couple things I had had my eye on. The first is this manga - isn't it adorable ?! I'm a sucker for cutesy Shojo mangas, and this one was all about baking and desserts too and has the first two books in one, so I couldn't pass it up. It goes for $14.99 USD and $16.99 CAN.

Then I got these little sprout bookmarks. I only have one bookmark, because I always lose them in old books when I start a new one and end up having to use a sticky note or something for a bookmark, so I decided to get these. There are six in a pack so I should be set for awhile ! These were $7.00 CAN

Lastly I picked up these "Retro Pens". They caught my eye when I was at the mall last week, so I went back and got them. I don't have too many biros that aren't the plain old Bic brand, and I quite liked these, plus it wasn't an impulse buy ! Good job, Issy haha Oh and these were $7.00 CAN as well.

That’s all for this mini-haul, thank you for reading ! I apologise for the poor quality photos, I used my BlackBerry to take them (*>▽<) I'll try to use a better camera in the future, but this will make do for now I suppose. My next post will be a review on the My Beauty Diary sleep concentrate. Until next time friends (^ω^)

Hello and welcome !

This is my first post on this brand new blog, I’m excited for this journey and hope you all enjoy your stay !

My goal for this blog is to post about fashion, beauty, cosmetics and probably a dash of things I like and find cute, and would like to share with you all ! 

Wish me luck, now let’s get started !
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